I assumed that I would spend some time today talking about the Beatles' first appearance in the United States, since so many others made mention of that anniversary. I was heavily influenced by them in my youth, and still hold them near to my heart, even if one of my daughters does consider them horribly boring and not quite as groundbreaking as the rest of us thought they were. But this morning, a different "this day in music" caught my attention. One of my favorite albums by my favorite band turned 20 today. It was finally inspiration enough for me to start the process of learning how to transfer music from my old fossil of a computer, where my entire library is stored, to the laptop. Unfortunately, I am finding it far more difficult than I imagined, and I can't figure out why I am hitting so many road blocks. I need a computer genius to come over and show me where my failings are. And no, I don't need someone to TELL me what's wrong. That way only leads to heartache when jargon and assumptions are tossed around and no one believes I can't find what I am told I should see. So far on my own, I have managed to get the album playable from an external hard drive, not copied to my iTunes library, and missing a track. I'm starting to think I am about to spend a lot of money to replace a lot of music in purely digital format.
Nineteen years ago, I stumbled on this record, in my usual search of the Ms in the CD store. I realized it was a new release from the band, that I had missed hearing about. This was back in the days before I discovered the internet, but after they had fallen out of favor with the authorities who decided what was "cool" and worth promoting. Most of their best work has come since they became uncool, so I'm always willing to go the extra mile to find them. It took me a handful of listens to really hear it and absorb it fully, and once I did, I recognized it for the masterwork it was. The frontman of the band had heard a news item on the radio, of a young woman who was found wandering on Severn bridge in England, dazed, possibly suicidal, and refusing to speak even her name, if she knew it. In that instant, instead of dismissing her as just another runaway, the singer was overcome with empathy. He tried to imagine himself in her place, to understand just what could have driven her to desperate straits. His fictional backstory for the unnamed girl inspired the album. We hear of her physical abuse from home, her life on the street as a runaway, her anger at being dismissed as crazy or worthless, her pleas for attention and help, and finally, two alternate endings, one finding her new hope, and the other finding eternal peace in suicide. The songs are larger than life, emotional, angry, political, and very personal. I find something new to relate to each time, even in the circumstances I have never experienced. The writer was able to place himself inside someone else's skin so skillfully, he brought all of us along with him. I've begged my readers to listen to the inspirational songs before. But for this album, if you ever find yourself with the opportunity to hear it, don't stop at one listen. A true fan like me (and there were many like me for this album) took several tries to fully grasp it. Please, give it a chance. It has stood the test of time. The band is Marillion and the album is Brave.
I didn't spend the entire day just trying to retrieve one record. I was outside all afternoon, with the opening salvo in the war on weeds. I removed the fascia board thrown in my canna garden, carefully cut out all the dead canes, and ripped up as many weeds as I could from that side of the house. The roses were bashed around pretty badly from the falling debris, and they will need more pruning than the initial snips I made today. I played nice mommy, and let the Pride have a great escape of their own. They had hours of dirt baths, grass-induced vomiting, tree climbing, and bug chasing. Everyone has been tuckered out since we came in. I think they're happy with me. I can't say the same for my muscles. As always, I overdid it on my first day out in months. But I can see a lot of progress. It was worth it.
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